Can you give pets as gifts?

Mike-O

Mike-O

Active member


My friend is a very busy guy and often calls me when travelling from point A to B. Today, he informed me that he was just now on his way to sign a few papers and pick up a dog of his choice from an animal shelter. While one misfire in this whole arrangement is that he's allergic to dogs himself, although kept in check by medicine, he was going to surprise his girlfriend by giving the dog, puppy or not, as a gift to her.

My first thought was "Wait, isn't she in exchange right now?" and my second thought was how appropriate or usual is it to gift pets to other people? We all know the stereotypical packaged ponies and puppies from the movies, labradors or golden retrievers emerging from the striped hat boxes with holes poked on the top and all the awws and oohs of cuteness of a surprise pet popping out into their lives. But even then, you would think that the matter has been discussed thoroughly with the nearby parties involved and at least mentioned by the ones receiving the gift - "Wow, I'd really like to get a dog, you know?"

And that was when I asked my friend what his plan was. He thought that the ol' girlfriend would be coming to visit home in about three weeks and by then he would've had accommodated the dog into the home, and together they would welcome her into a house now filled with days of tailwagging. So, persistent as I am and knowing my friend and his antics all too well, I asked if she had ever even mentioned wanting a dog, or any pet. "Umm... not really." So, could there then be a possibility that she would actually really, really not want a dog or a pet of any kind, moreover as a surprise showed in her face? "Errrr.... oh. I guess that could be." That's a shitload of responsibility thrown on someone, and even if you'd say it was a gift for her and you would take care of the dog in every way, then why would have you supposedly given it as a present in the first place and not just bought it for yourself? "...I see what you mean."

So, I talked him out of it for now, at least until he can probe around the situation and if there is a want or a need for a doggie housemate in their near-future.

But it got me thinking - is this a common thing? Having bought a dog myself, we had to be on a waiting list for a long time and it was a mutual decision and agreement to get a pet, not another being just thrown into your care with a snap of the fingers. Sure it's faster, cheaper or even free sometimes to go to shelters or receive lil' newborn pets from farms, friends etc. But is it appropriate to give a living thing to someone as a surprise gift?

 
IMO. Movies and Tv and such have

given people the idea that puppies and kittens make heartwarming holiday gifts for people.

But the reality is often heart wrenching for most of these living, breathing gifts, not to mention the families who end up giving up the pets once they grow and require more time, attention, training and expenses than their owners can or choose to give.
 
Good on you for talking your buddy out of it - he sounds like a fucking moron

Pets (at least dogs) are such a huge responsibility, especially time wise. I recently adopted my first dog (parents have had dogs my entire life) knowing full well how much time you need to dedicate to another living thing. I'm still surprised as to how much of my time revolves around him. I literally need to plan every single day around my dog to make sure he is well taken care of and doesn't just get stuck in a house for hours on end.

So many people do the stupid thing and rush out to get a cute puppy but have no idea of the impact it's going to have on the next 8-12 years of their life
 
I want a dog. Rhodesian Ridgeback preferred.

Originally bred to hunt lions the breed is also known as the African Lion Hound.

RhodesianRidgeback.jpg


CouchPupies1.JPG
 
I think this all depends on the situation. I've given a pet as a gift and it went over great. Gave my girl a chinchilla a few years back. We still have him to this day.
 
Those things are nuts - a buddy of mine adopted a young one a few years back they can run like no ones business..obviously why they were used in hunting lions. His wasn't that well behaved so whenever your back was turned it would just take off a run for hours it was nuts

I was watching some show on animal planet and it recommended rhodesians for marathon runners because they can run 26+ miles no problem when their owners are training

 
Animals should not be given as gifts. Having worked at a shelter for several years, I see what happens when that backfires.
 
I got my girlfriend a pet fish for her birthday when we started seeing eachother haha. Also got a big tank and she slowly added a shit ton more fish and frogs and stuff so its really cool now and she loves it. Randomly giving someone a dog is a shit ton of responsibility and stuff. Just get a fish
 
It's really only appropriate if you know that they want a dog, and know what specific kind/age they want.

So for instance-- if you're the man of the family (or woman, whatever) and the family has been talking about getting a puppy and you've all narrowed it down to a golden retriever-- then a golden retriever puppy shows up on Christmas morning with a bow around him-- this would be an example of an appropriate animal gift.

example of a bad animal gift-- giving your girlfriend, who may or may not like dogs, an eight year old rescued dog with emotional issues from the humane society.
 
holy fuck

but yeah, giving a dog as a gift seems really irresponsible to me. way too many people get dogs without thinking about the reality that they require the responsibility of like, half a kid at least
 
Yea, I cant run marathons but I try to run daily. I feel like having a dog that would always want to run would get me out there. Plus I want to run a marathon one day so why not get a dog that can run a marathon.
 
I personally look at getting a dog like having a child. Some smaller breeds can live 17 years or more and require a lot of time. If my wife an I get another dog I may indeed surprise her on Christmas with a puppy, but that's because I know we want another as a companion for our current dog and she doesn't think it's going to happen any time soon.
 
All I can think of right now is this:

But I think giving a pet as a gift is a super shitty idea unless the person has been raving about how they want it and planning it already and the only limitation is something like, the breeders have a long waiting list, or it's for a 12 year old, or they were waiting on approval from a landlord and got it but don't know it yet...

If someone tried to give me a dog right now, I'd be fucked. I want one really really bad and can afford one, but my landlord wont allow it. I'd have to say no or move. And I'm not moving.
 
Would be interested to hear about that a bit. In Finland, if you have a child you get a two week window for possible returns, but otherwise no returns, no refunds. This dog would have run him 300 euros, but I've heard of lower prices as well.

As for the fish comment, I don't know, I'd probably feign glee for a moment but then get real and say I really don't want a fish if that was the case. Still, although a lot less harmful than a dog or a cat, I find it pretty awkward to give any kind of pet as a gift if it's non-consentual. Maybe a frickin' tadpole, sure.
 
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